For a little over two weeks in April/May I was tremendously blessed to be a presenter in the PNG for Christ program at the Madang Teachers College. Much has already been said about the way that the Holy Spirit manifested Himself throughout that time, but I spent a little time in trying to understand why the results of the preaching of the gospel is so different in Australia. In my questioning, I reached into my back pocket twice during evening presentations and took out my bankcard as an illustration of a major difference between our cultures.
As a people who are predominately subsistence farmers, I was struck by the fact that they have a different approach to the issue of money than we in our Western culture do. Upon returning home, I was impressed to read afresh Psalm 23. I was moved to paraphrase it into our Western vernacular as a summary of our materialistic way of living our life and possible exhibiting our faith, and to me is one explanation of the differences between the two cultures.
Psalm 23
The Lord is my Bankcard, I shall not want,
He allows me to lie down in the lap of luxury,
He leads me beside the ASX and galloping share market,
He revitalises my overdraft,
He leads me in the direction of my Financial Advisor
For my interests sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of an economic downturn,
I will fear no evil, For my trusty Bankcard is with me,
Its ease of use and portability, they comfort me.
You prepare a Boardroom presentation for me in the presence of my competitors,
You anoint my tongue with glib anecdotes,
My cup runneth over,
Surely prosperity and its fine dining shall follow me
All the days of my life,
And I will be up to my neck in debt in my house fitting for a Lord
Forever.
We are admonished to put God first in everything that we do and my prayer for us all is that as we “lift up our heads because our redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28), we can trust God to “supply our every need according to His riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19).
Stuart Barons attends the Rosny church, Tasmania. A retired teacher/principal in Adventist schools in Vic and Kabiufa, PNG, for many years.
